An era of great and rapid expansion between 1770 and 1915 is known as the Age of Steam. With the Industrial Revolution in full swing, art and philosophy were freed to investigate grandly romantic ideals, and many of the most famous chamber pieces stem from this time. Mozart’s inventive ‘Kegelstatt’ Trio for clarinet, viola and piano, opens our program. Dvorák’s sublime Sonatina for violin and piano and Saint-Saëns’ effervescent and inventive Piano Quartet, each represent the glories of industry. In response to the Steam Era’s splendours and excesses, contemporary American composer David Bruce has imagined an alternative universe in Steampunk. This septet’s title refers to a genre of cartoon-inspired science-fiction premised where electricity has not been invented, and we all live in a be-goggled, fanciful, yet darkly Dickensian dystopia.